Ending what environmentalists call the “Halliburton loophole” would be the Democratic candidate’s first priority in regulating fracking, adviser Trevor Houser said.

“Congress stripped [the Environmental Protection Agency] of its authorities to protect communities under the Safe Drinking Water Act, something called the ‘Halliburton loophole,’ ” Houser said Wednesday at a Politico event coinciding with the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

“We give EPA, under our landmark environmental laws, the ability to protect communities from environmental threats,” he said. “And there should not be a big exemption when it comes to hydraulic fracturing. So that’s our primary focus, on getting that loophole closed and reinstating that authority.”

Clinton said at a March debate that while she would not seek to ban fracking, she would seek strict new regulations on the oil and gas drilling technique.